On February 7 we will gather for our annual Congregational Meeting and Potluck Brunch. This is always a popular event as we get updated on all the activity that went on in 2015 and share good food.

As part of our GreenFaith initiative, we’re doing something a little different this year. We are having an All-vegetarian Potluck! This is also an introduction to our Lenten activity of encouraging “Meatless Mondays” for all members of our congregation.

You may ask “what does vegetarian food have to do with the environment?” Actually, it has a great deal to do with the environment. From chooseveg.com:

Raising animals for food (including land used for grazing and growing feed crops) now uses a staggering 30% of the Earth’s land mass.

To produce one pound of animal protein vs. one pound of soy protein, it takes about 12 times as much land, 13 times as much fossil fuel, and 15 times as much water.

In the United States, 70% of the grain grown is fed to farmed animals. Imagine how many people we could feed with that food.

Nearly 80% of land deforested in the Amazon is now used as cattle pasture.

Now many of your favorite items to bring to brunch may already be vegetarian (deviled eggs, macaroni and cheese, salads, etc.). Or consider vegetable quiche or bean salad. And if you’d like some recipes to try, here are some personal favorites from your GreenFaith team, or you can go to Meatless Monday or Vegetarian Times for ideas. We hope this will be a fun and educational event for all of us!

(Note that we are doing a vegetarian, not a vegan, brunch. That means it is perfectly acceptable to use dairy products such as milk, cream, butter, and cheese, and to use eggs.)